After earning a 109-108 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers are now 14-2 through their first 16 games of the season. That mark represents the best start ever for a LeBron James team to begin the season. LeBron had previously earned a 13-3 mark twice with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008-09 as well as 2016-17, and once with the Miami Heat during the 2013-14 campaign. But James has never opened the season as dominantly as these Lakers have throughout his 17-year NBA career.
While competing against a Grizzlies team led by rookie-of-the-year candidate Ja Morant who was three years old when LeBron made his professional debut, King James poured in 30 points while recording a team-best plus/minus of +7 during the one-point victory for L.A. He also collected six rebounds and dished out four assists while superstar teammate Anthony Davis scored 22 to go along with five blocks. The Lakers will now meet a struggling San Antonio Spurs team on the road on Monday with the goal of extending their seven-game winning streak.
The Lakers being off to the best start of LeBron’s career from a record standpoint is a testament to how dominant James continues to be even at the age of 35. This isn’t a byproduct of LeBron being on the most talented roster of his career–that already happened for James during his time with the Miami Heat. While most of his contemporaries are either retired for fighting to keep their careers alive, LeBron is collecting more rebounds per night than his career average while also dishing out 3.5 assists more than he has throughout his career. He’s doing this while scoring 25.2 points per contest and representing the biggest factor for his team’s success so far.
LeBron has always prided himself on playing the right way and this Lakers team is a reflection of that. Los Angeles currently ranks in the top-7 in defensive rating as well as assist-to-turnover ratio. They rank No. 2 in field goal percentage as a team as well, and lead the league in blocked shots. If they’re able to maintain those efforts while continuing to improve from the 3-point line, the wins will keep piling up in record numbers for LeBron and company as we move throughout the season.